Posted: 7/6/2014 4:13:44 PM EDT
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Hey guys,
So I have a 97 toyota corolla that the lower AC line is pinched. It happened in an accident before I bought the car. Anyways, I don't know a lot about AC systems and I have some questions. Is this something I could do in my driveway? Do I have to have the system discharged before I remove the line? Would the compressor be messed up since its been pinched for so long? Could I recharge it using the Freon cans from an autoparts store? Thanks |
| Most people will tell you to leave it alone, but I'm not most people. You can certainly remove and replace the line, but you will have to have a professional shop evacuate it, check for leaks, and refill it with the proper amount of R134. While you are at it, order every o-ring in the system and replace them all yourself. It will all but eliminate the possibility of leaks. A purge and refill won't cost much at most ac shops. |
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Most people will tell you to leave it alone, but I'm not most people. You can certainly remove and replace the line, but you will have to have a professional shop evacuate it, check for leaks, and refill it with the proper amount of R134. While you are at it, order every o-ring in the system and replace them all yourself. It will all but eliminate the possibility of leaks. A purge and refill won't cost much at most ac shops. No way to do it by myself? |
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No way to do it by myself? Quoted:
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Most people will tell you to leave it alone, but I'm not most people. You can certainly remove and replace the line, but you will have to have a professional shop evacuate it, check for leaks, and refill it with the proper amount of R134. While you are at it, order every o-ring in the system and replace them all yourself. It will all but eliminate the possibility of leaks. A purge and refill won't cost much at most ac shops. No way to do it by myself? Not unless you have the tools and knowledge to do it. You'll need a vacuum pump (can be purchased at harbor freight) and a set of gauges minimum. Do some googling and you'll find some DIY write ups. You'll spend more in tools to do it yourself than you will pay a pro. |
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Not unless you have the tools and knowledge to do it. You'll need a vacuum pump (can be purchased at harbor freight) and a set of gauges minimum. Do some googling and you'll find some DIY write ups. You'll spend more in tools to do it yourself than you will pay a pro. Quoted:
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Most people will tell you to leave it alone, but I'm not most people. You can certainly remove and replace the line, but you will have to have a professional shop evacuate it, check for leaks, and refill it with the proper amount of R134. While you are at it, order every o-ring in the system and replace them all yourself. It will all but eliminate the possibility of leaks. A purge and refill won't cost much at most ac shops. No way to do it by myself? Not unless you have the tools and knowledge to do it. You'll need a vacuum pump (can be purchased at harbor freight) and a set of gauges minimum. Do some googling and you'll find some DIY write ups. You'll spend more in tools to do it yourself than you will pay a pro. copy |
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As mentioned, get system evacuated. It's illegal to just dump it into the atmosphere and I would never recommend that approach to anyone. But if the compressor is going bad, it's most likely not due to the pinched line.
You need to disassemble the system, flush the condenser and the evaporator, replace the expansion valve, all hoses since they start to break down over time, all O rings and the dryer. Find out how much oil your system takes, dump new oil out of the compressor and measure how much it has. Top off measuring cup to proper amount and divide it up between the compressor and the dryer. Lube all O rings and reassemble everything. Hook up manifold (gauges) and vacuum down system for a couple of hours. Then charge with correct amount of freon. Now I skipped a lot of the small stuff that is necessary like purging the charge line, how to use the manifold properly, etc. But if read all this and still feel you can tackle the job, watch a lot of you tube videos and learn how to do it as I did. I bought a vacuum pump and a set of manifolds from Tooltopia.com along with the flush bottle and the proper air gun that moves enough CFM to blow out all the lacquer thinner used for the flush. Without a proper sized air compressor, don't attempt it. It requires a lot of CFM to flush one out properly. And if you don't flush it, you might destroy that new compressor. In the past year I have completely redone 3 of our cars in the fleet and I still need to do my new system I installed in my '66 Mustang. |
| Most vehicles ac compressors can actually pull their own vacuum…it's just not a common practice to charge them that way. As to the rest…it's a pain. I have a friend who is in the commercial refrigeration game. Let me tell ya, the recharge cans you buy at walmart and auto part stores are higher than a pair of giraffe balls. 134 runs about $70 for a 35 lb tank…most vehicle AC systems use less than 5 lb. |
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Most vehicles ac compressors can actually pull their own vacuum…it's just not a common practice to charge them that way. As to the rest…it's a pain. I have a friend who is in the commercial refrigeration game. Let me tell ya, the recharge cans you buy at walmart and auto part stores are higher than a pair of giraffe balls. 134 runs about $70 for a 35 lb tank…most vehicle AC systems use less than 5 lb. Agreed. Price on this shit is outrageous. I paid $15 a can at Advance and maybe a little more at O'Rielly's. Next time I'm shopping at Wal Mart for it at $10 a can. My daughters Honda took 2 cans and my Son's '95 Mustang GT took 3 cans. |
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Quoted: Yes it's illegal to vent it to the atmosphere. You would also be amazed at how many professional shops do it. There also are no Freon police...at least in most parts of the country...now if you are in CA....there might be Freon police. Edited for spelling.
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Bullshit, there is a freon police. It's called the EPA. I have to keep a pic if every ounce of any type refrigerant I touch. If I was to audited and not have my records in irder I would be fined big time, loose my license, and my job. The EPA has set in a hill above junk yards and called to order compressors, filmed them when they cut the lines and call back to Order more compressors. Each charge is hundred of thousands of dollars each. Quoted:
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Yes it's illegal to vent it to the atmosphere. You would also be amazed at how many professional shops do it. There also are no Freon police...at least in most parts of the country...now if you are in CA....there might be Freon police. The funny thing about that, nearly every vehicle I've seen that has been totaled in a front end collision, the AC lines were damage and the system had discharged into the atmosphere long before the tow truck ever got on scene. Here is another interesting fact, AC fittings on vehicles are captive. On most commercial and residential AC/coolers/freezers, it is quite difficult to even hook up gauges without venting a 1/2 lb to 1 lb into the atmosphere. Some of the newer stuff has valves on the T's for the high low to help prevent this, but most of the older stuff does not. I've even seen stuff where the factory completely sealed the system…so the lines have to be cut just to add a T to hook gauges up to. |
| I recently redid the entire A/C on a 93 Corolla (same generation) and it's easy as shit to replace lines. Go to pick a parts and get a new line for cheap and buy some new orings. Lube up the orings, rent some refill tools and a buy a couple cans of r134 and get to work. probably be done after a day or so of work |
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Quoted: The funny thing about that, nearly every vehicle I've seen that has been totaled in a front end collision, the AC lines were damage and the system had discharged into the atmosphere long before the tow truck ever got on scene. Here is another interesting fact, AC fittings on vehicles are captive. On most commercial and residential AC/coolers/freezers, it is quite difficult to even hook up gauges without venting a 1/2 lb to 1 lb into the atmosphere. Some of the newer stuff has valves on the T's for the high low to help prevent this, but most of the older stuff does not. I've even seen stuff where the factory completely sealed the system…so the lines have to be cut just to add a T to hook gauges up to. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Yes it's illegal to vent it to the atmosphere. You would also be amazed at how many professional shops do it. There also are no Freon police...at least in most parts of the country...now if you are in CA....there might be Freon police. The funny thing about that, nearly every vehicle I've seen that has been totaled in a front end collision, the AC lines were damage and the system had discharged into the atmosphere long before the tow truck ever got on scene. Here is another interesting fact, AC fittings on vehicles are captive. On most commercial and residential AC/coolers/freezers, it is quite difficult to even hook up gauges without venting a 1/2 lb to 1 lb into the atmosphere. Some of the newer stuff has valves on the T's for the high low to help prevent this, but most of the older stuff does not. I've even seen stuff where the factory completely sealed the system…so the lines have to be cut just to add a T to hook gauges up to. I'm not sure what the EPA does about automotive, I'm certified universal for refrigerant handleing. I can buy 25 + pounds of any refrigerant out there, I can't buy the small cans cause I don't have automotive cert. I can buy it at any auto parts place though. |
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Agreed. Price on this shit is outrageous. I paid $15 a can at Advance and maybe a little more at O'Rielly's. Next time I'm shopping at Wal Mart for it at $10 a can. My daughters Honda took 2 cans and my Son's '95 Mustang GT took 3 cans. Quoted:
Quoted:
Most vehicles ac compressors can actually pull their own vacuum…it's just not a common practice to charge them that way. As to the rest…it's a pain. I have a friend who is in the commercial refrigeration game. Let me tell ya, the recharge cans you buy at walmart and auto part stores are higher than a pair of giraffe balls. 134 runs about $70 for a 35 lb tank…most vehicle AC systems use less than 5 lb. Agreed. Price on this shit is outrageous. I paid $15 a can at Advance and maybe a little more at O'Rielly's. Next time I'm shopping at Wal Mart for it at $10 a can. My daughters Honda took 2 cans and my Son's '95 Mustang GT took 3 cans. $4.98 a can. You're welcome. |
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Bullshit, there is a freon police. It's called the EPA. I have to keep a pic if every ounce of any type refrigerant I touch. If I was to audited and not have my records in irder I would be fined big time, loose my license, and my job. The EPA has set in a hill above junk yards and called to order compressors, filmed them when they cut the lines and call back to Order more compressors. Each charge is hundred of thousands of dollars each. Quoted:
Quoted:
Yes it's illegal to vent it to the atmosphere. You would also be amazed at how many professional shops do it. There also are no Freon police...at least in most parts of the country...now if you are in CA....there might be Freon police. They don't do anything like that in my area of the country. If they charged a junkyard like your story goes, all the junk yards in the country would be out of business. Hundreds of thousands of dollars per violation? Please. ALL the junkyards in my area will cut lines to remove a compressor. No one cares. I think you might be reading too much internet rumor. |
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Quoted: They don't do anything like that in my area of the country. If they charged a junkyard like your story goes, all the junk yards in the country would be out of business. Hundreds of thousands of dollars per violation? Please. ALL the junkyards in my area will cut lines to remove a compressor. No one cares. I think you might be reading too much internet rumor. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Yes it's illegal to vent it to the atmosphere. You would also be amazed at how many professional shops do it. There also are no Freon police...at least in most parts of the country...now if you are in CA....there might be Freon police. They don't do anything like that in my area of the country. If they charged a junkyard like your story goes, all the junk yards in the country would be out of business. Hundreds of thousands of dollars per violation? Please. ALL the junkyards in my area will cut lines to remove a compressor. No one cares. I think you might be reading too much internet rumor. |
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They don't do anything like that in my area of the country. If they charged a junkyard like your story goes, all the junk yards in the country would be out of business. Hundreds of thousands of dollars per violation? Please. ALL the junkyards in my area will cut lines to remove a compressor. No one cares. I think you might be reading too much internet rumor. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Yes it's illegal to vent it to the atmosphere. You would also be amazed at how many professional shops do it. There also are no Freon police...at least in most parts of the country...now if you are in CA....there might be Freon police. They don't do anything like that in my area of the country. If they charged a junkyard like your story goes, all the junk yards in the country would be out of business. Hundreds of thousands of dollars per violation? Please. ALL the junkyards in my area will cut lines to remove a compressor. No one cares. I think you might be reading too much internet rumor. most cut the lines, but most recover the system first, so they can sell the reclaimed refrigerant |
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Ok. You must be correct. It's never happened to anybody around you. Sorry for my lack of knowledge. What do you do for a living? Quoted:
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Yes it's illegal to vent it to the atmosphere. You would also be amazed at how many professional shops do it. There also are no Freon police...at least in most parts of the country...now if you are in CA....there might be Freon police. They don't do anything like that in my area of the country. If they charged a junkyard like your story goes, all the junk yards in the country would be out of business. Hundreds of thousands of dollars per violation? Please. ALL the junkyards in my area will cut lines to remove a compressor. No one cares. I think you might be reading too much internet rumor. Apology accepted. |
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I recently redid the entire A/C on a 93 Corolla (same generation) and it's easy as shit to replace lines. Go to pick a parts and get a new line for cheap and buy some new orings. Lube up the orings, rent some refill tools and a buy a couple cans of r134 and get to work. probably be done after a day or so of work Thanks |